Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun said he will give his State of the City address on April 1 at the Hobart High School auditorium, 221 E. 10th St.
He announced at the Hobart City Council meeting on Wednesday that upcoming event, as well as another of note, a public input session on Festival Park.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. on April 1 with a special recognition to city officials at 6 p.m., followed by his address at 6:30 p.m., Huddlestun said.
Huddlestun said there will also be a Hobart public input session held from 10 a.m. to noon on April 4 to discuss the future of Festival Park.
The event will be held at the Festival Park Community Center, 111 E. Old Ridge Road.
Residents are invited to stop by and share their ideas for park construction and function.
The Hobart Park and Recreation Board last week approved a resolution confirming it will fund the project only up to the amount through the existing bond of $6.6 million, Chief of Staff Kelly Clemens said.
The resolution will now be forwarded to the Hobart City Council, which has the option to move forward with the entire project if it chooses to fund Phase 2, Clemens said.
In other business, the Hobart City Council set an April 15 public hearing before the city council for the voluntary annexation into the city of 6.66 acres located west of Interstate 65 and north of 37th Avenue.
Attorney Richard Anderson, petitioner of the annexation request, said the CATCO company, located off of W. 37th Avenue, wants to add additional outside storage buildings.
“Tonight is only an introduction,” Anderson said.
The city council also held a public hearing for its Community Development Block Grant program for fiscal year 2026.
Huddlestun said the city’s portion of the funding, which can be used for infrastructure, is $112,590.
No one from the public spoke in regard to the issue, but City Councilman Mark Kopil, D-1st, suggested the money be earmarked for sidewalks in some of the subdivisions in his ward.
Many of the homes, built in the 1960s, weren’t required to have sidewalks during that time period, Kopil said.
During public comments, several residents spoke of concerns about the proposed data center as well as issues with ambulance services reaching residents promptly, especially in the Ross Township annexed area of Hobart.
Patricia Corey, who lives in Ross Township, said when the city of Hobart annexed her property back in the 1990s, a park had been promised and never received.
“Give us our park, which was never received,” Corey said.
Corey also spoke of difficulties when she had to call an ambulance for her ailing mother, which initially couldn’t find her house. Huddlestun, after asking her several questions about the timing, said he would look into the matter.
Resident Jennifer McQuade, who is opposed to the data center, voiced concerns about noise and air pollution.
McQuade, who lives in Ross Township, said she and others would prefer that the property stay agricultural or possibly be used as a residential subdivision.
City Councilman Matt Claussen, D-at-large, said, “We annexed it (Ross Township) 34 years ago and no one built a single home there.”
He said that 1,500-2,000 homes, if built there as part of a subdivision, might also release a great amount of pollutants.
“Everybody throws this at us like it (the data center) will pollute the world,” Claussen said.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
